Monday Bolts - 12.15.08

• Ball Don't Lie behind the box score: "The Spurs got out to a huge (26 points) lead in the first half, and while the offense did taper off a bit (44 combined points in the second and third quarters), it was the team's one-on-one defense that looked much worse. Jeff Green (33 points) and Kevin Durant (28) went off, and the Thunder made a game of it."

• I don't really get the point of this, but Oklahoma appears "more favorable" around the country: "Oklahoma securing its own professional team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, was a plus, Zogby said. "Having the NBA never hurts,” he said. "The numbers went up among men.” Success by Oklahoma’s college football teams this season also probably helped with Americans having a better opinion or image of the state, he said."

• The Oklahoman asked Sam Presti three questions: "Nobody’s happy with where we stand right now from a record standpoint. But we feel like in the last weeks we’ve taken steps forward. But we have to play with consistency. I think the consistency in our ability to show improvement each day in practice carries over to game situations. I like the fact that our guys have hung together and continue to work to get themselves righted. There’s an accountability for our slow start for everyone.”

• Thunderguru game reaction: "When we played the Jazz in November (which seems like a loooongg long time ago with this team), we played in a similar fashion as we did in tonight’s game: play unbelievably bad in the first half, but in the second half, come out and play so well you scare the bejeezus out of a title contending team."